New Year: A great time to make changes

We are entering a new year.

This is a great time to reflect and evaluate the past year and pray and ask God what is to come. There are a lot of areas we need to look at:

1- Ask God, "in what areas have I grown, and where do I need to grow?

A lot of times we don't take the time to do this simple principle. We all have grown and need to grow, but it is powerful when we actually take an honest look at our growth. Ask God what you need to do to get to those goals He has shown you. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." God's plans are good and for us. Through spending time with Him, you can hear from him a practical plan to meet your goals. Ask Him for a daily plan if needed to get to those goals.

2- What are the major personal roadblocks that are slowing or stopping you from your growth? What are they and WHY are they there?

Sometimes we have bad behavior and/or destructive patterns that are setting us back. When we have bad fruit, we need to look at the roots.  In Isaiah 5:24 it says, "...their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty..."  When we have bad fruit that is repetitively happening in our lives and we can't stop it, there may be an un-Biblical truth that has taken root in our belief system. We need to identify and pull out the lying root and replace it with Biblical truth.

YWAM has a teaching on the Belief Tree. I found a blog that explains more about this; please take the time to read this over.

If you can't identify the reason why the roadblocks are in your life are there, then you can't overcome them. Dig at the roots to change your fruit.

3- In Proverbs 29:18 it says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."

So the question I have for you (and myself) is "what is God's vision for 2025 and beyond?" When we get a hold of the vision God has for us, it will pull us into the discipline needed to follow through on the plans God shows us; we will discover growth and the power to overcome the roadblocks that stop those things from happening. We need to have a vision! And that vision comes from God.

What does God have planned for you?

I believe that some of you reading this have made plans and they have failed; you came up with visions and they died. You have never overcome your roadblocks, but they have overcome you. For those of you out there, you need to go to the vision source. You need to go to the One who came to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). Jesus is your answer.

Go to Jesus in this new year and stick with Him throughout. Most of the time He will bring others to help you get past the obstacles you are facing so you can experience His plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11). He will give you a vision. Ask Him.

May our God who overcame death and the cross be the Over-comer for you in your life in this New Year!